Buddhism Guides
Sometimes the Only Thing to Do is Pray: An Excerpt from A Dakini’s Counsel
Sometimes The Only Thing to Do is Pray A Selection from Chapter 1 Excerpted from A Dakini's Counsel: Sera Khandro's Spiritual Advice and Dzogchen Instructions By Sera Khandro Translated by Christina Monson About This Title Sera Khandro Dewai Dorje was a modern Tibetan Buddhist teacher who single-pointedly pursued a life of Dharma while balancing family life and public [...]Heart Advice: Pronouncements Before Passing A Selection from Chapter 8 Excerpted from A Dakini's Counsel: Sera Khandro's Spiritual Advice and Dzogchen Instructions By Sera Khandro Translated by Christina Monson About This Title Sera Khandro Dewai Dorje was a modern Tibetan Buddhist teacher who single-pointedly pursued a life of Dharma while balancing family life and public teaching. This collection [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Bodhisattva’s Jewel Garland: An Excerpt from Kadam, Part One
Bodhisattva's Jewel Garland: A Root Text of Mahāyāna Instruction from the Precious Kadam Scripture Excerpted from Kadam: Stages of the Path, Mind Training, and Esoteric Practice, Part One By Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye Translated by Artemus B. Engle About Kadam The third volume of this series covers the teachings and practices of the Kadam lineage. This tradition [...]
Illuminating the Mind to See One’s Nature: The Root of Taoist Inner Practice
Illuminating the Mind to See One's Nature: The Root of Taoist Inner Practice An Excerpt from Taoist Inner Alchemy By Master Huang Yuanji & Ge Guolong Translate by Mattias Daly About This Excerpt Taoism and Buddhism, specifically Chan Buddhism, share many similar ideas including the concept and practice of inner cultivation, the nature of emptiness [...]
Women in Buddhism Throughout history women have played a vital role in the preservation and presentation of Buddhism. The Buddha himself expressed deep respect for his mother and as several contemporary Buddhist scholars have pointed out, women have played a significant role in helping to shape and preserve Buddhism. That is certainly true for Buddhism [...]
Continue Reading >> Buddism in 2023 Read More Explore our more general interest books on Buddhism we published in 2023 See our other Year in Review Guides: Zen and Chan | Tibetan Buddhism | More in Buddhism Yoga | Kids Books Buy 2 books for 20% off, 3 books for 30% off, 4 or more for 35% off. [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Kids Books in 2023 Read More Over a dozen beautiful books for kids to instill compassion and wisdom See our other Year in Review Guides: Zen and Chan | Tibetan Buddhism | More in Buddhism Yoga | Kids Books Buy 2 books for 20% off, 3 books for 30% off, 4 or more for 35% [...]
Continue Reading >> 
This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this series or simply explore from here. Zen and Tea: A Guide for Readers [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Buddhism, Ecology and the Climate Crisis Read More Buddhism and Climate Awareness Buddhism has long since been a part of the conversation on climate and environmental awareness as well as protection of human and animal welfare. Grounded in peace, compassion, loving-kindness, and interconnection, Buddhism is well positioned both philosophically and practically speaking to combat our [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Remembering Rigdzin Shikpo We are sad to share the news that Rigdzin Shikpo (Michael Hookham) passed away on April 28th, 2023. A short bio of him is included in Recalling Chögyam Trungpa: "Rigdzin Shikpo, a qualified master of the Nyingma tradition, has studied and practiced Buddhism for over fifty years. Before meeting his main teacher, [...]
Continue Reading >> Remembering J. C. Cleary We are saddened to share the news that J. C. (Chris) Cleary passed away on February 25, 2023. Chris, along with his brother Thomas, were pioneers in bringing some of the most important texts from East Asian Buddhism and beyond into readable, accurate English. It began with the brothers' collaboration on [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Thinley Norbu Rinpoche: A Guide for Readers
The Small Golden Key: To the Treasure of the Various Essential Necessities of General and Extraordinary Buddhist Dharma On this short book, Rinpoche wrote, “The Small Golden Key , which I wrote in Honolulu, is predominantly very compact. In it, I hastily synthesized the essence of different Dharma ideas according to the three yanas.” Here Rinpoche […]
Rebirths of the Dudjom Lineage Learn More A visual guide to the primary rebirths of the Dudjom lineage as described in Thinley Norbu Rinpoche's The Ruby Rosary. The Dudjom lineage is one of the most important in the Nyingma tradition. A famous prayer written by Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, is called the Pearl Necklace [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Leigh Brasington on Ayya Khema, Metta Practice, and The Path to Peace
Listen to author and editor Leigh Brasington in conversation with Shambhala Publications staff about The Path to Peace: A Buddhist Guide to Cultivating Loving-Kindness and his teacher, Ayya Khema. After talking about Ayya Khema as a teacher, Leigh discusses metta practice and how it relates to samatha, vipassana, and the jhanas. He then leads us [...]
The Five Remembrances – An Excerpt from Alive Until You’re Dead by Susan Moon
The Five Remembrances Buddha urged his disciples to meditate upon the five remembrances. When I first heard them, I thought, Wow! This is harsh! But I shouldn’t have been surprised; they are straightforward reminders of the teaching of impermanence. Here is Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh’s translation. I am of the nature to grow old. [...]
The Treasury of Knowledge Learn More A guide to ten volumes of the Sheja Kun La Khyabpé Dzö, or Treasury of Knowledge, one of Jamgon Kongtrul's masterpieces covering the entire path of Vajrayana. Image: Tsadra Rinchen Drak, where Kongtrul spent many years in retreat Explore the Treasury of Knowledge Home Page of the Work Kalu [...]
Continue Reading >> The Treasury of Knowledge Learn More A guide to ten volumes of the Sheja Kun La Khyabpé Dzö, or Treasury of Knowledge, one of Jamgon Kongtrul's masterpieces covering the entire path of Vajrayana. Image: Tsadra Rinchen Drak, where Kongtrul spent many years in retreat Explore the Treasury of Knowledge > Home Page of the Work [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The Complete Nyingma Tradition Learn More In 1838, Choying Tobden Dorje, a Buddhist yogi-scholar of eastern Tibet, completed a multivolume masterwork that traces the entire path of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism from beginning to end. Explore the Complete Nyingma Tradition Home Page of The Complete Nyingma Tradition >The Books of The Complete Nyingma [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The Complete Nyingma Tradition Learn More In 1838, Choying Tobden Dorje, a Buddhist yogi-scholar of eastern Tibet, completed a multivolume masterwork that traces the entire path of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism from beginning to end. Explore the Complete Nyingma Tradition Home Page of The Complete Nyingma Tradition The Books of The Complete Nyingma [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The Complete Nyingma Tradition Learn More In 1838, Choying Tobden Dorje, a Buddhist yogi-scholar of eastern Tibet, completed a multivolume masterwork that traces the entire path of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism from beginning to end. Explore the Complete Nyingma Tradition >Home Page of The Complete Nyingma Tradition The Books of The Complete Nyingma [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Some Nyingma Lineages: Dudjom Tersar | Longchen Nyingtig | Namcho & Palyul Other Contemporary Nyingma Figures: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche | Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse | Thinley Norbu | Phakchok Rinpoche | Khandro Rinpoche Tulku Thondup: A Guide to His Works Read our remembrance to Tulku Thondup Rinpoche who passed away on December 29, 2023. Tulku Thondup Rinpoche [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Tibetan Buddhism in 2021 Read More We published many books of interest from the Vajrayana traditions of Tibet, Bhutan, and the Indian Himalayas See our other Year in Review Guides: Theravada/Pali/Insight | Chan, Zen, Mahayana | Tibetan Buddhism Receive a 30% discount on these titles through January 2nd using code 2021YE at checkout We are [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Theravada: A Reader's Guide Learn More Traditional Theravada Buddhism is the set of traditions and practices that form the basis of most of the Buddhism in Southeast Asia. We have many books that uncover the richness of this tradition, and are full of surprises. View of Drikung Lamayuru Monastery (Wikipedia) Related to Theravada Buddhism: Insight [...]
Continue Reading >> 
About Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche Dzigar Kongtrul was born in the Northern Indian province of Himachal to his parents Neten Chokling Rinpoche and Mayum Tsewang Palden. During his monastic education, he was trained in the Nyingma school's Longchen Nyingtik lineage under his root guru, the renowned Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Additionally, he studied extensively under Tulku Urgyen [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Thomas Cleary (1949—2021) was one of the twentieth century’s greatest translators of Asian classics. He was extremely prolific, translating and authoring countless works. Shambhala Publications has published over sixty. His books have sold millions of copies and his translations have in turn been translated into over twenty languages worldwide. His first published project, in collaboration [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Last week we received the very sad news that Thomas Cleary, one of the greatest translators of our time, passed away on June 20, 2021. Thomas Cleary (1949–2021) was the twentieth century's most prolific translator of Asian classics to English, translating and introducing over eighty works from Chinese, Japanese, Sanskrit, Pali, Bengali, Arabic, and Old [...]
Continue Reading >> 
A Reader’s Guide to Shantideva and the Way of the Bodhisattva
Shantideva and The Way of the Bodhisattva Learn More A Reader's Guide to the Essential Work on the Bodhisattva Path A Reader's Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva See Also: Profiles of early Indian Mahayana figures | Tibetan Masters of the 8th Century | Tibetan Masters of the 10th-11th Centuries Nagarjuna | Aryadeva | Asanga | Shantideva | Xuanzang | The Seventeen Pandits of Nalanda The great nineteenth-century [...]
Dogen: A Guide to His Work This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this series or [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The Works of Zen in the Tang Dynasty This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The Seon Tradition of Zen in Korea This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this series [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Zen Buddhism: A Reader's Guide to the Great Works There have been surprisingly few clear introductions to the full range of the East Asian tradition of what is popularly commonly referred to, in its Japanese variant, as Zen Buddhism but also known as Chan, Soen, and Tien in original Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. All these [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Cuong Lu, author of Wait, discusses his new book, how we can bring happiness and love into every moment of our lives, and shares some words of encouragement for when times get tough. 1. Why was it important to you to write Wait? I was alarmed seeing so many shootings in the US on the news—homicides, [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Thich Nhat Hanh on Dying...and Living For more from Thich Nhat Hanh, who passed away on January 22, 2022, see his author page with books, audiobooks, cards, as well as anthologies where his teachings are included. Becoming Truly Alive What would you do if your doctor told you that you only had three months to [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Patrul Rinpoche See Our Reader's Guide Patrul Rinpoche (1808–1887) was one of the greatest Tibetan teachers of the nineteenth century. Famous for his precise and direct style, he shunned high monastic office and lived the life of a homeless wanderer, writing his book in a rustic hermitage under an overhanging rock. Praise to Patrul Rinpoche [...]
Continue Reading >> 
What follows is the entire chapter on meditation from Anam Thubten's No Self, No Problem It is very good to ask from time to time, “What am I searching for?” This is a very powerful question. We may be surprised and shocked when we figure out what we have been up to. Often we discover [...]
Continue Reading >> 
We know your lives have been profoundly changed by the impact of the ongoing global health crisis. We know you are concerned for yourselves, for your loved ones, for your communities. We know so many people are suffering right now, and are afraid. And we want to help. We want you to know that though we [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Khyentse Foundation Second Children’s Book Prize Winner Announced
Khyentse Foundation and Bala Kids are delighted to announce that Carol Dodd is the winner of this year’s Children’s Book Prize. Carol Dodd is a first-time author based in Hawai’i. She wrote a magical, lyrical children’s book on impermanence for ages 4–8, which will be published through Bala Kids in 2021. The central theme that [...]
Stephanie Kaza, author of GREEN BUDDHISM: Practice and Compassionate Action in Uncertain Times, in conversation about her life as a UC Santa Cruz biologist, a writer, a professor, and a Buddhist. Green Buddhism$18.95 - PaperbackBy: Stephanie Kaza Add to Cart Books by Stephanie Kaza See All Books
Continue Reading >> 
The paragraphs below come from the foreword of Mipham Rinpoche's White Lotus: An Explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer to Guru Padmasambhava. These words were penned by Wulstan Fletcher of the Padmakara Translation Group and we suspect many will resonate with his articulate and constructive advice on how to deal with our own tendencies to be cynical, reinterpret, [...]
Continue Reading >> 
[Note: This article on Buddhist publishing was originally written by Nikko Odiseos, president of Shambhala Publications for the blog Vajrayanaworld.com as requested by Lama Dechen Yeshe Wangmo. As the blog is no longer, we are hosting it here with a few small updates.] My longtime friend Lama Wangmo asked if I would pen a few [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Sign Up for 5 Free Videos and a Meditation Practice from Pema Chödrön! ENTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO RECEIVE A SERIES OF 5 VIDEOS AND A MEDITATION PRACTICE. In her first new book of spiritual teachings in over seven years, Pema Chödrön offers fresh wisdom, heartfelt reflections, and the signature humor and insight that have [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Buddha Nature Read More In the eleventh century, the great Tibetan scholar-practitioner Gampopa (1079–1153) began his composition known as The Jewel Ornament of Liberation with an exposition on the cause for awakening. What is the cause for awakening? In the Vajrayana and third turning traditions of Buddhism it is buddha nature. Buddha nature is our [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche & Pema Chödrön in Conversation | Free Video Offering
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche and Pema Chödrön Discuss the Innate Tenderness of Our Hearts ENTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO ACCESS THE COMPLETE VIDEO INTERVIEW. In this interview, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche sits down with Pema Chödrön to discuss his book, Training in Tenderness, cultivating compassion, and the innate tenderness of our hearts known as tsewa. After entering [...]
Harmonies with Enlightenment An excerpt from Our Human Potential Thirty-Seven Harmonies with Enlightenment Four establishments in mindfulness The thirty-seven harmonies with enlightenment are essential ingredients of the path. They are divided into seven sets, the first of which is comprised of the four establishments in mindfulness. These are the establishments in mindfulness of body, feeling, [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The following talk is from Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo’s Course: Living the Dharma: How to Practice Buddhism and Make It Count. We have made this final talk available here as a podcast as we think this is one of the most important, powerful, and clear presentations on the importance of Sangha, or spiritual [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Practicing Patience During Times of Difficulty An Excerpt from The World Could Be Otherwise THE PERFECTION OF PATIENCE is kshanti paramita in Sanskrit. Kshanti can be translated as “patience,” “forbearance,” or “tolerance,” but these words don’t capture the fullness of what kshanti connotes because they all imply a kind of quietism or passivity. To be patient [...]
Continue Reading >> Announcing the Second Khyentse Foundation Children’s Book Prize
Theme: Stories that Teach Foundational Buddhist Topics After a successful competition in 2017, Khyentse Foundation and Bala Kids are once again teaming up to offer the Khyentse Foundation Children’s Book Prize for best Buddhist children’s manuscript. Khyentse Foundation and Bala Kids have the shared vision to inspire and educate future generations about Buddhism and to [...]
The Role of the Teacher in Tibetan Buddhism: A Reader’s Guide to the Teacher-Student Relationship
The Teacher-Student Relationship Learn More To truly understand Tibetan Buddhism, one must come to grips with the unique role of the teacher, the dynamics of the teacher-student relationship, and the possibilities that having a teacher can open up. To truly understand Tibetan Buddhism, one must come to grips with the unique role of the teacher, [...]Following the Green Practice Path An Excerpt from Green Buddhism Understanding Our Impact Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, cancelling clean-water regulations, stalling on clean-energy projects—the recent years under a climate-change-denying political administration have been very discouraging, indeed. Day after day, we seem to hear only about backward steps and policy losses on environmental issues. The [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The following is an excerpt from Inseparable Across Lifetimes by Holly Gayley A Letter from Tāre Lhamo The tenth letter Tāre Lhamo sent to Namtrul Rinpoche during their correspondence. This is a duet that Tāre Lhamo composed between Devī and Pema. Devī means “goddess” in Sanskrit and translates the second part of her name, Lhamo, [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Milarepa: A Reader's Guide Learn More There are few figures more beloved in the Buddhist Himalayas than the 11th century yogi-hero Milarepa. Namkading Cave area where Milarepa spent many years in retreat Related Reader Guides: Profiles of early Indian Mahayana figures | Tibetan Masters of the 8th Century | Tibetan Masters of the 10th-11th Centuries The Kagyu Tradition | [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The following is an excerpt from The Monkey Is the Messenger by Ralph De La Rosa The Breath as a Resource "There is no need to struggle to be free; the absence of struggle is in itself freedom." —Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche The breath is a most precious resource that we routinely ignore. Simply put: no [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Learning to Stay | An Excerpt from The Places that Scare You
Practicing Meditation As a species, we should never underestimate our low tolerance for discomfort. To be encouraged to stay with our vulnerability is news that we can use. Sitting meditation is our support for learning how to do this. Sitting meditation, also known as mindfulness-awareness practice, is the foundation of bodhichitta training. It is the [...]
Radically Happy: A User’s Guide to the Mind ENTER YOUR EMAIL TO RECEIVE TWO PLANS FOR HAPPINESS AND THE FIRST CHAPTER OF RADICALLY HAPPY AS A PRINTABLE PDF. Spending time with someone you love, laughing at a funny story, eating your favorite food—we experience happiness in many different ways, but maintaining that feeling can often be [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Using Every Activity to Support the Present Moment We are excited to share two bonus meditation and mindfulness exercises with you created by Phakchok Rinpoche and Erric Solomon, the authors of Radically Happy. Exercise 1 Walking Meditation Begin by standing in a natural position, eyes open, facing whichever direction you are about to travel in. Keep [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The Secret Is Nonattachment Getting Hooked In Tibetan there is a word that points to the root cause of aggression, the root cause also of craving. It points to a familiar experience that is at the root of all conflict, all cruelty, oppression, and greed. This word is shenpa. The usual translation is “attachment,” but [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The Heart Sutra: A Reader's Guide This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this series or [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Remembering the Good within You | An Excerpt from Lovingkindness
Two Exercises for Your Practice Remembering the Good within You Sit comfortably, in a relaxed way, and close your eyes. As much as possible, let go of analysis and expectation. For ten to fifteen minutes, call to mind something you have done or said that you feel was a kind or good action—a time you [...]
The Gift of Sadness | An Excerpt from Sadness, Love, Openness
Sadness Is Not the End Meditating While Thinking There is, however, one particular method that benefits everyone alike: acknowledging that nothing lasts. We instinctively feel that things are going to stay more or less the same and that the people around us will remain, but that’s not the case. If we can, we should try [...]
Temple Boy and Spitting Cobra | An Excerpt from In the Cool Shade of Compassion
A Lesson on Revenge Ajan Ngoen was born in 1890 in the Village of Grandma Hom’s Knoll in Nakhon Pathom, a province about sixty kilometers west of Bangkok. Ngoen’s father was a farmer and herbal doctor who taught him mantras and medicine from palm-leaf texts. In 1910 Ngoen (which means “silver”) was ordained as a [...]
A Healing Power by Radhule Weininger, author of Heartwork A Surprising Discovery Recently, during a one-year mindfulness facilitator training, our team of teachers made a surprising discovery. As part of an exercise, students were taught how to guide each other through mindfulness and compassion meditations. Afterwards, students shared their experiences of how this had been [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Yunmen in Context Setting the Stage for Chan Long before Buddhism arrived in China around the beginning of the Common Era, Chinese thinkers taught ideas whose orientation was of striking similarity to some central tenets of that foreign religion that had yet to arrive. These teachings, ascribed to the ancient sages Laozi (Lao-tzu) and Zhuangzi [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The Lotus of Mutual Belonging by Radhule Weininger, author of Heartwork “If the world is to be healed through human effort, I am convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for life is even greater than their fear. People who can open to the web that called us into being.”—Joanna Macy The [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Buddhist Poetry: A Reader Guide Read More Shambhala Publications publishes numerous books of Buddhist poetry, and we’ve gathered some of our favorites here. Jump to sections on this page: Recent Releases | Chan and Zen Poetry | Indian Poetry | Tibetan Poetry | Southeast Asian Poetry | Contemporary Buddhist Poetry Related Books and Articles Recent [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The World Is Round or Spherical | An Excerpt from Gendun Chopel
from Melong Gendun Chopel contributed both poetry and essays to Melong (“Mirror”), the Tibetan-language newspaper published in Kalimpong by the Tibetan Christian from Khunnu, Dorje Tharchin, also known as Tharchin Babu. Its full title in Tibetan was Mirror of the News from Various Regions. In the June 28, 1938, issue, Gendun Chopel published an essay [...]
The Approach and Intent of Zen | An Excerpt from The Rinzai Zen Way
Understanding the Rinzai Zen Way Studying Zen, one rides all vehicles of Buddhism; practicing Zen, one attains awakening in a single lifetime. —Eisai [From a teisho given in February 2012] In speaking with many beginning Zen students, it seems apparent that although they may be familiar with some of the methods of Zen practice, [...]
In the world of religion, some things stay the same, while many are constantly adapting to meet our new world of the internet and cell phones, scientific discovery, increasing awareness of gender and race dynamics, multiculturalism, the numbers of people identifying their religion as “none” or “spiritual but not religious,” and so much more. We [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The Practice of Loving-Kindness | An Excerpt from Comfortable with Uncertainty
The following excerpt is from Comfortable with Uncertainty By Pema Chodron Paperback | eBook Seven-Step Practice To move from aggression to unconditional loving-kindness can seem like a daunting task. But we start with what’s familiar. The instruction for cultivating limitless maitri is to first find the tenderness that we already have. We touch in with our [...]
Visitation-Land Dog Nature | An Excerpt from No-Gate Gateway
A Dog Too Has Buddha-Nature A monk asked Master Visitation-Land: “A dog too has Buddha-nature, no?” “Absence,” Land replied. No-Gate’s Comment To penetrate the depths of Ch’an, you must pass through the gateway of our ancestral patriarchs. And to fathom the mysteries of enlightenment, you must cut off the mind-road completely. If you don’t pass [...]
A Commentary on The Way of the Bodhisattva by H. H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Many Kinds of Wisdom 1. All these branches of the Doctrine The Enlightened Sage expounded for the sake of wisdom. Therefore they must cultivate this wisdom Who wish to have an end of suffering. There are many kinds [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Why Buddhism for Black America Now? | An Excerpt from Taming the Ox
The Buddhist, Black Experience Originally published in 2014 What I propose is a spiritual revolution. —His Holiness the Dalai Lama The State of Black America In his 1970 work, Buddhist Ethics, Hammalawa Saddhatissa writes in the preface, “Strictly speaking, Buddhism is not a religion in the generally accepted sense of the word, and it would [...]
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s impact on the transmission of Buddhism to the West cannot be overstated. In the quarter century he spent in the West, he taught tens of thousands of students, in many cases introducing them to Buddhism for the first time. His legacy is nearly impossible to measure, but one gauge is his literary [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Sacred Are the Trees: A Retelling of Ancient Stories from Biographies of the Buddha by Wendy Garling, author of Stars at Dawn Why Trees? Those familiar with the Buddha’s biography know that all major events in his life took place under trees. He was born under a shala tree (shorea robusta), for example, as his [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Kalu Rinpoche and the Translation of The Treasury of Knowledge Below Sarah Harding shares the story of how Kalu Rinpoche came to take on the task of translating Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye's The Treasury of Knowledge, an immense feat that took the skills and dedication of many that will be treasured by all who are [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Related Reader's Guides Guide to the Sakya Tradition Guides to Other Important Sakya Figures: Sakya Pandita | Sakyasribhadra Drogön Chögyal Phagpa Lodrö Gyaltsten (1235-1280) Drogon Chogyal Phagpa Lodro Gyaltsen (1235-1280), better known to the world as Chögyal Phagpa (or Phakpa) is one of the five great founding masters from the Sakya tradition in Tibet. In [...]
Continue Reading >> The Boy without a Name or The Boy Who Lives by Himself is an unfinished story written by Chögyam Trungpa at an unknown date. We would like to invite you to read what Chögyam Trungpa wrote and write your own ending to the story. You can post your writing in the comments below. I am the boy who [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The Buddha Walks into the Office seemed a particularly apt choice for our Shambhala office book club. After all, if anyone should aspire to an awake, uplifted workplace, it should be us. We dove in to see if Lodro Rinzler, teacher in the Shambhala tradition and founder of MNDFL meditation studios in New York, had [...]
Continue Reading >> 
by Rebecca Hazell The Buddha is well known in popular culture. He is seen as wise, benign, friendly, and peaceful. You can find commercialized representations of him in images ranging from good luck Ho Tai figures to garden statues of him sitting and typing on a laptop. Imagine what a ruckus would ensue if Jesus [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Each month, the Shambhala employees gather to discuss a new book as part of our Shambhala Publications Book Club. After each meeting, we will be sharing the notes from our discussion with you to spark your own thoughts and conversations. Our October pick was Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice by [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Introduction to The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa, Vol. 8
CLICK HERE to read the complete introduction from The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa, Volume Eight. See more about the Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa here.
Book Club Discussion | Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chögyam Trungpa
by Kate White Kate, our Production Coordinator/Designer, sums up our August meeting of the new Shambhala Publications Book Club! August’s book selection was Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. We invite you to take part by sharing your comments below. There are a lot of different kinds of people who work at Shambhala [...]
The Nyingma Summer Seminar: Reflections on a Buddhist Retreat
By Sanje Phillips This July, I attended the Nyingma Summer Seminar at the Mangala Shri Bhuti retreat land in Ward, Colorado, with Dzigar Kongtrül Rinpoche, Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel (wife), and Dungse Jampal Norbu (son). Over one hundred attendees with varied demographics sat daily meditation sessions, participated in the teachings, endured periods of silence and the usual [...]
by Brett Campbell Nobody asks for the chaplain in the good moments. This is an unspoken rule I realized early in my career. Nobody thinks of the chaplain after they’ve delivered a healthy child or they take their first steps following an accident that left them bedbound for weeks. These are the times when life [...]
Continue Reading >> 
One of the commonalities of the many traditions within Buddhism is the centrality of the messages in the Buddha’s very first teaching in Sarnath, shortly after attaining enlightenment in Bodhgaya. He held back from actually teaching the first people he met including the Burmese traders (who tradition tells us brought back some of his hair, [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Steve Buscemi and Sam Bercholz Discuss A Guided Tour of Hell
Steve Buscemi and Sam Bercholz on the new book A Guided Tour of Hell: A Graphic Memoir A Guided Tour of Hell$24.95 - HardcoverBy: Samuel Bercholz & Pema Namdol Thaye Add to Cart
by Kate, Production Coordinator/Designer I have a confession to make: I judge books by their covers. And I’m not even sorry about it. I’m baffled by how many amazing books there are in the world that I’ll never have time to read. And there are more being released all the time! It can be so overwhelming [...]
Continue Reading >> 
A Lecture Series on Asanga’s Bodhisattvabhumi with Translator Artemus Engle
In conjunction with the Tsadra Foundation, premier translator and scholar Artemus Engle brings Asanga's masterpiece, the Bodhisattvabhumi, to life, unlocking what can be an intimidating text and making its important and power to light. Part 1: Part 2: The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed Enlightenment$59.95 - HardcoverBy: Artemus B. Engle & Asanga Add to Cart See [...]
A Walk with Dogen into Our Time
In 1954 poet Allen Ginsberg wrote a poem called “Song” that acknowledges the weight of our human circumstance and suffering in a particular and somewhat unusual way. I believe it may also provide a gateway to the following writings by Zen master Eihei Dogen, who addressed the nature of reality as he came to understand the world of people and things through his lifetime practice of Zen.
One of the greatest joys for me as an editor at Shambhala Publications is when I work on books by people I have long admired. This was most definitely the case when Shambhala had the good fortune to become William Scott Wilson’s publisher several years ago. I first encountered his work when I was a [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Khenpo Shenga (1871–1927) There are thirteen classics of Indian Mahayana philosophy, still used in Tibetan centers of education throughout Asia and beyond, particularly the Nyngma tradition, with overlap with the others. They cover the subjects of vinaya, abhidharma, Yogacara, Madhyamika, and the path of the Bodhisattva. They are some of the most frequently quoted texts [...]
Continue Reading >> 
We join our palms and say goodbye to a teacher who had an immense impact on the world. S.N. Goenka was a pioneer in making Vipassana meditation widely available to a secular audience. Over 170 meditation centers have been established around the globe under his auspices. His legacy will resound indefinitely. 29 January 1924 [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The Nalanda Tradition This entry to the Great Masters series kicks off a series within a series that looks at the great Buddhist center of learning at Nalanda in India and what are known as the Seventeen Panditas of Nalanda, a grouping conceived by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as they are the core group [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Aryadeva Learn More A Reader's Guide to Nagarjuna's disciple See Also: Profiles of early Indian Mahayana figures | Tibetan Masters of the 8th Century | Tibetan Masters of the 10th-11th Centuries Nagarjuna | Aryadeva | Asanga | Shantideva | Xuanzang | The Seventeen Pandits of Nalanda Mahayana Buddhist philosophy This article for the Great Masters [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Awakening$24.95 - PaperbackBy: Rodney Smith Add to Cart An Interview with Rodney Smith, author of Awakening: A Paradigm Shift of the Heart Shambhala: In your new book you take on the possibly daunting task of describing what enlightenment is and how it happens. To what extent can it even be described? Rodney Smith: I think [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Translating the Maitreya Treatises: An Interview with Thomas Doctor
We recently interviewed Thomas Doctor, a translator on the Dharmachakra Translation Committee, about the importance of their recent translations of the Maitreya texts and commentaries. Shambhala Publications: The Dharmachakra Translation Committee has now published two of the five Maitreya texts, with a third on the way soon. Can you give a brief overview of why [...]
Thubten Chodron is an American Buddhist nun in the Tibetan tradition. A student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan masters, she became a nun in 1977. She is abbess of Sravasti Abbey, a Buddhist monastery in eastern Washington State. She is the author of several books, her most recent being Don't Believe [...]
Continue Reading >> 
A New Perspective on an Ancient Practice: An Interview with Zoketsu Norman Fischer
Shambhala: How did you first encounter Zen, and what was your introduction to practice like? Norman Fischer: I got involved at first through reading-reading and thinking about my life. This was in the very early days, when there were no Zen centers or practice centers of any kind (at least that I was aware of) [...]
What would you like to accomplish this year? Have you made New Year's resolutions to start meditating or pick up your practice again? To be more mindful with your children or adolescents? To mend a broken heart or learn to cook? To finally figure out your dosha, prioritize, or simply to relax? We at Shambhala [...]
Continue Reading >> 
The Way of the Bodhisattva: An Immersive Workshop in Boulder May 18-22, 2016
[Note, this event occurred in the past and the videos are all available on this site for free.] Few texts are more frequently taught and quoted, have as colorful a history, and as much relevance to Buddhists today more than the eighth-century Indian Buddhist monk Shantideva's The Way of the Bodhisattva. The Dalai Lama has said [...]
2016 was certainly a year of high emotions and global challenges-a confusing and contentious U.S. election, civil wars in Syria and Iraq, Olympic scandals, Brexit, the spread of the Zika virus, continuing international acts of terrorism, and so much more. But as we open the New Year, we also have the opportunity to reflect on [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Intermediate States: Bardos and Living and Dying from Ancient India to 21st Century New York The term bardo, often translated as "intermediate state" is a term that entered the popular imagination in the West with the publication of W.Y. Evans-Wentz's 1927 translation of The Great Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate States, which he rendered [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Pointing to the Heart of the Buddhadharma: An Interview with Guo Gu, author of The Essence of Chan
Shambhala: Can you tell us something about your background-how you encountered the Buddhadharma? Guo Gu: I first learned meditation when I was in Taiwan at age four. A meditation master named Guangqin taught me how to sit in meditation, and I thought it was fun to copy what he was doing. Later, my family immigrated [...]
Mipham Rinpoche A Guide to His Works Related Topics Nyingma Lineages: Dudjom Tersar | Longchen Nyingtig | Namcho & Palyul Nyingma Masters: Rongzompa | Longchenpa | Jigme Lingpa | Patrul Rinpoche | Mipham Rinpoche Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche (1846-1912) Mipham Rinpoche is a celebrated Nyingma scholar and practitioner. He is revered for being a prolific writer and [...]
Continue Reading >> 
His Holiness the Dalai Lama Learn More We publish over two dozen books by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. See also: Tsongkhapa: A Guide to His Life and Works | Kalachakra Tantra Reader Guide | Works by the Dalai Lamas | Readers Guide to His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Other Tibetan Buddhist Traditions: [...]
Continue Reading >> 
Normalcy at Its Best: An Interview with David Chadwick, Biographer of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
Shambhala: Your teacher Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind has now been in print for more than forty years, and is still often recommended as the best first book to read about Zen practice. Why do you think its popularity has endured throughout the explosion of Buddhist publishing the last few years? David Chadwick: Hard [...]
The following is an excerpt from The Life of Longchenpa: The Omniscient Dharma King of the Vast Expanse By Jampa Mackenzie Stewart In Praise of Longchen Rabjam By Khenpo Shenga Translated by Adam Pearcey Due to the kindness of Guru Padmasambhava, there have been many great holders of the teachings here in Tibet, the Land of [...]
Continue Reading >> 
From Butön's History of Buddhism in India and Its Spread to Tibet Four hundred years after the Buddha passed away, in the southern country of Vidarbha, there lived a prosperous Brahmin who was childless. In a dream, gods foretold that if he invited one hundred Brahmins to a religious festival, a son would be born [...]
Continue Reading >>